Textile fiber spraying oil



Patented Mar. 23, 1937 PATENT OFFlC TEXTILE FIBER. srnarme om tion of Delaware No Drawing. Application December 21, 1934,

Serial No. 758,608

12 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of textile fiber spraying oils and has particular reference to a compounded oil adapted to be applied to textile fibers prior to or during the manipulations incidental to the conversion of thefibers into yarn and fabrics. The invention also contemplates themethod of treating textile fibers 3th; the herein described textile fibe'r spraying o 10 More particularly, this invention relates to a textile fiber spraying oil consisting essentially of a petroleum hydrocarbon oil and a relatively small proportion of an alkyl acetyl rlcinoleate such as, for example, butyl acetyl ricinoleate.

The textile fiber spraying oil with which the present invention is concerned has certain characteristics which makes it suitable for the lubrication of textile fibers, It has a relatively low surface tension toward textilefibers so that when it is applied thereto it wets them evenly and homogeneously. This characteristic also lends a certain very definite penetrating action to the oil assuring a more or less uniform wetting of the individual fibers constituting the mass of fibers to which it is applied.

The oil does not contain any readily oxidizable compounds which might tend to decompose and form uniform gums and polymerized products. Being stable insofar as oxidation is concerned, it does not cause the deterioration and loss of strength in the fibers to which it is applied.

Then, too, the oil is readily and completely removable from the. fibers after' they have beenprocessed into yarns or fabricswithout recourse to the use of strong chemicals. This feature not only assures of more even dyeing-and bleaching of the finished materials, but also permits of the manufacture of yarns and fabrics which are distinguished by greater inherent strength. and wearing properties. Finally, the oil is not affected deleteriously by the adsorption of water during storage or while in use and no separation of the constituent materials occurs. This characteristic isan inherent property and is due directly to the fact that soaps are not used in its preparation.

)I'liere are certai advantages which result from the wetting textile'fibers with the composition of matter which forms the basis of the present invention. It renders the textfle fibers soft without affecting their inherent elasticity while strengthening and conditioning 'them for the subsequent carding, twisting and spinning operations. At the same time, it reduces the fly and waste of the short fibers and in this way makes possible more hygienic conditions in the mills. 'By increasing the lubricity of the yarns, the spray oil materially decreases the friction between the fibers and the machine parts with which they come in contact. It is also believed 5 by some that an oil-wetted fiber 'does'not become charged with static electricity during the drawing and spinning operations. This is an important consideration since it has been observed that charged dry fibers will repel one another and thereby reduce the parallelism that is necessary for strength in the yarn and the final fabric.

I Up to the time of my invention. various compositions of matter had been proposed for the spraying of textile fibers. These compositions were usually either emulsions of oils. with water or oils containing dissolved chemicals. The first class of compositions, namely, the emulsions are generally undesirable in that they unduly weight the fibers to which they are applied and also cause the rusting and corrosion of the fabricating machinery. The compositions of matter of the second class are generally more desirable. They consist principally of oils of vegetable, animal or mineral origin containing dissolved chemicals such as soaps and the like. It is gener well accepted that oils of the vegetable and animal variety are unstable when subjected to oxidizing conditions in that they throw down gums, polymers and discolor readily. vIt is quite obvi-f ous, therefore, that although these oils may be suitable lubricants, their characteristics are such as to militate-against their general acceptance by the textile industry. Mineral oils, on the other hand, or spraying oils consisting essentially of mineral oils, may be used alone with a measure of success.- However, it was found that by incorporating soaps in the oils, the same had better fiber wetting powers. However, the great disadvantage attaching to compounded oils of this type is the fact that in the presence of moisture, the contained soaps tend to separate from the oil. Apparently, large quantities of moisture are not necessary to effect this result since it has been found that the soapcontaining oil is usually sufliciently hygroscopic to absorb the-required moisture from'the atmosphere while the oil is in use.

I have found that by combining a carefully selected mineral oil with a relatively small proportion of an alkyl acetyl ricinoleate, it is possible to produce a spraying oil which does not sufier from'any of the disadvantages pointed out above.

It has been found through experience that this spraying oil is far superior to any spraying oil discovered to date, and is especially useful for the treatment of cotton fibers and fabrics. I am unable to account for the remarkable wetting and penetrating propertieslwhich this spraying oil possesses since the alkyl acetyl ricinoleate is present in relatively small proportion. One possible explanation for the correctness of which I do not vouch, however, appears to be that the alkyl acetyl ricinoleates are extremely polar to ward textile fibers and, when dissolved in the proper type of mineral oil, they impart a; considerable polarity to the composition of matter in which they are present.

' In preparing the textile-fiber spraying oil which forms the basis of the present invention, I have found that butyl acetyl ricinoleate is extremely suitable. However, acetyl ricinoleate esters of the other alcohols such as of methyl, ethyl, propyl, and amyl alcohols may be employed. The

proper percentage of these compounds is usually in the neighborhood of from one-half to one percent. However, these figures are not to be interpreted as limiting the quantity of the esters employed since as much as five percent may in some cases be useful.

The mineral oil with which the alkyl acetyl ricinoleates are combined is'preferably one having a relatively low viscosity. Any moderately well refined mineral oil and including such petroleum products as mineral seal oil, heavy kerosenes and light lubricating oils having a viscosity of less than about 100 seconds Saybolt Universal at 100 F. is suitable. This definition is not intended to preclude the use of oils of higher viscosity cut back with lowerviscosity oils so that the resulting viscosity is less than 100 seconds Saybolt Universal at 100 F.

One embodiment of the invention consists in the following ingredients mixed in the indicated proportions:

' Per cent Light lubricating oil', viscosity 48 to 52 seconds Saybolt Universal at 100 F. 99. 0-99. 5

Butyl acetyl ricinoleate 0. 5- 1.0

As another example of a practical application of my invention, the following formula may be employed in preparing a suitable textile :fiber spraying oil:

I Per cent Light lubricating oil, viscosity less than 100 seconds Saybolt Universal at 100 F 95. 0,

Propyl' acetyl ricinoleate 5.0

Obviously many modifications and variations of the invention, as hereinbeforeset forth, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated in the appended. claims.

I claim:

1. A textile fiber spraying oil consisting essentially. of a light lubricating oil having dissolved therein less than 5% of butyl acetyl ricinoleate.

2. A textile fiber spraying'oii consisting essentially of from to 99.5% of a light lubricating oil and from 0.5 to 5% of butyl acetyl ricinoleate.

3. A composition of matter consisting essentially of from 95 to 99.5% of light lubricating oil and from 0.5 to 5% of butyl acetyl ricinoleate, said composition having an oily consistency and being adapted to be sprayed upon textile fibers and tquniformlywet the same during the process of converting them into yarn and textile and also being adapted to be removed readily from the finished textile material.

4. A composition according to claim 3 in which the light lubricating oil has a viscosity less than seconds Saybolt Universal at 100 F.

5. A textile fiber spraying oil consisting essen-' tially of about 99.5% of a light lubricating oil having a viscosity in the range of from 48 to 52 seconds Saybolt Universal at 100 F. and about 0.5% of butyl acetyl ricinoleate, said textile fiber spraying oil being-adapted to be applied to the 7. The method of preparing textile fiber for,

the manipulations. incidental to its fabrication into yarn, which comprises applying thereto a textile oiling compound consisting essentially of from 95 to 99.5% of light lubricating oil having a viscosity less than about 100 seconds Saybolt Universal at 100 F. and from 0.5 to5% of butyl acetyl ricinoleate.

8. The method of preparing textile fiber for the manipulations incidental to its fabrication into yarn, which comprises incorporating therein a textile oiling compound consisting essentially of about 99.5% of alight lubricating oil having a viscosity of from 48 to 52 seconds Saybolt Universal at 100 F. and about 0.5% of butyl acetyl ricinoleate.

9. A textile fiber spraying oil consisting essentially of from 95 to 99.5% of a light lubricating oil and from 0.5 to 5.0% of an alkyl acetyl ricinoleate.

10. The method of preparing textile fiber for the manipulations incidental to its fabrication into yarn, which comprises applying thereto a mixture of a light lubricating oil and a relatively small proportion of an alkyl ester of acetyl ricinoleic acid.

11. The method of preparing textile fiber for the manipulations incidental to its fabrication into yarn, which comprises applying thereto a mixture of a light lubricating oil and a relatively small proportion of the acetyl ricinoleic acid ester of an aliphatic alcohol containing from 1 to 5 carbon atoms.

12. A textile fiber spraying'oil consisting essentially of a light lubricating oh and a relatively small proportion of the acetyl ricinoleic acid ester of analiphatic alcohol containing from 1 to 5 carbon atoms.

' RQY F. NELSON. 

